Discover what makes tape stick!
PSA tapes are composed of a backing material coated on one or both sides with a permanent or temporary silicone, acrylic or rubber adhesive, frequently supplied with a release liner. Adhesive tapes are used for a variety of applications depending on the chemistry of the component and the construction configuration.
What is Pressure Sensitive Adhesive Tape?
The Pressure Sensitive Tape Council (PSTC) defines PSA tape as a continuous flexible strip of cloth, paper, metal, film, or foam coated on one or both sides with a permanently tacky adhesive at room temperature that will adhere to a variety of surfaces with light finger pressure.
PSA tapes do not need to be activated with water, a solvent, or heat. They function due to three distinct properties: adhesion, cohesion, and tack. These three properties balance each other out and cannot function without one another. Adhesion is the adhesive’s bonding strength to the substrate. The inner strength of the adhesive is referred to as cohesion. Tack is the tape’s (adhesive’s) immediate grip on the substrate.